goal setter, stationery addict, planner girl, volunteer

The Green Gables: Happy Paper Club – July 2015 Box

Happy Paper Club is a monthly subscription service from the Green Gables that delivers boxes full of stationery and papery goods. You can opt for a Taster Box, where you purchase just one box, to give it a test before you subscribe. Or you can dive straight in with a rolling monthly subscription or a six month subscription. I chose to go with a taster box just to get a feel for the box and see if it is something I want to invest more money into. The July box ships out towards the end of July so I actually received the box in August but I’m going to open the box up now with you and share my thoughts on it.

The items all come wrapped in a sheet of tissue paper, with a little sticker closure. It’s simple but elegantly done and I think the wrapping adds something special. I love receiving packages that make you feel like you are opening a present – and the Happy Paper Club does just this! The first thing I noticed when I got it open was the colours. Gabrielle’s introduction to the July kit is printed on double sided A5 paper and there’s just a beautiful range of bright vivid colours across the page. It is easy to follow but allows the headings to stand out, without getting lost. On the left, there’s a list of what to expect inside the box and I’ll be looking at each item in the same order in a bit more detail (as a number of these are also available to purchase individually from the shop, if you are interested in them):

A shopping list note pad *

A sheet of wrapping paper with a tag *

Two greeting cards *

An inspirational mini print

A sheet of temporary tattoos

* Items available to purchase individually in the shop. Click on their respective images for a direct link to that item / category.

The shopping list note pad is amazing. I think it might actually be one of my favourites from the box, and certainly the most used. It’s simple yet looks good with the watercolour effect that is going on. But my main reason for loving this note pad is the quality of it. I grabbed a few pens, including a Sharpie marker to give it a good test and honestly? It held up against all of the pens that I threw that it. There was no feathering in any of the pens – including the Sharpie, which I thought was pretty impressive. Most of the pens also did not bleed through. The only exception to that, is the Sharpie markers – but that was to be expected – and fountain pen ink bleed through a tiny bit but it was barely noticeable. The Sharpie pen, however, had no show through at all. I’m definitely impressed by the quality of the paper that has gone into this pad.

I haven’t used the sheet of wrapping paper with a tag yet so cannot test the quality of it. However, I love that the pattern of it allows you to use it for any occasion – it has a birthday cake in there, a “1st” badge, a drink glass, a house etc. You name it, it’s probably in there – and it’s not limited to just birthdays, for example. The paper is quite thick too so I think it would not tear easily, like some papers do. You also get a huge sheet of it and I love that the tag comes in reverse colours. (And when I say huge, I mean like 50 x 70 cm huge!)

These greeting cards are simple yet elegant. There is a birthday cake one, specifically for birthdays of course and a more general “love you” one that you could use for any occasion. Both cards are blank on the inside, which allows you to customise the latter card and make it a “thinking of you” card, “miss you” card or general “love you and thought you should know” sort of card – the possibilities are endless. Both cards are made with thick paper. The coordinating envelopes are a thin brown paper. I personally prefer colourful envelopes so I’m not a huge fan of these but they do hold true to the recycled aim.

The inspirational mini print uses the quote “dwell in possibility”, which has been decorated in multiple font types and five different colours. I absolutely love the bold and bright colours that have been used in this print, it really suits the message. Again, the print has been made on good thick card and I think it would definitely last wherever you put it. I have not decided what I am going to do with mine just yet but two options I am considering is either putting it on my wall and making an inspirational message wall or hole punching it and putting it into one of my planners. As it’s really good quality card, it would definitely work as a small dashboard in your planner.

And finally, the box also contained a sheet of temporary tattoos. I personally don’t use tattoos so I have no real use for this, which is a bit disappointing. I like the designs of the tattoos and if they were stickers, then I would be all over them. I think the only downside to receiving these would be that I would not have expected it from a paper box and July’s box is shipped towards the end of July. So by the time it arrived to me, it was definitely far too rainy and cold to be wearing anything like short sleeve t-shirts that might reveal some tattoos. Of course, August is still Summer though but I think I saw around 2-3 days of sunshine in that entire month! But only 1 item in a subscription box that I won’t use is definitely not bad odds! Though I think this sheet is actually exclusive to the Happy Paper Clubbers so that is pretty cool.

Not only that but this month also included a promo code for a free pack of paper straws from the Peach Blossom website. It’s an offer that is exclusive to Happy Paper Club recipients. I haven’t claimed mine but they would definitely make a great little addition to a party or wedding. To be quite honest, I also love the little postcard that the offer comes on (details are on the reverse side of it!), which is super colourful and pretty!

If all of that was not enough then it is also really great to know that a lot of the products from The Green Gables is recycled or eco-friendly! As I was opening up the box and finding all of these wonderful items, I came across several labels that told me that a package that an item came in was made out of plastic that I can actually put in the compost! I think it is great that their cards and paper products are 100% recycled as well and so is everything from the tissue paper used to wrap the contents to the boxes they come in!

As you can see, there’s a whole lot of goodness in this box. And all of it for only £10! Some of these items are available individually but when you add it up, you’re definitely getting more for your money with a box. If you like being surprised, don’t want the stress of trying to decide or like to be given items you might not normally think of buying then I’d definitely recommend you give the box a go. However, you do run the risk of getting some items you don’t like but hopefully, it won’t be often and it won’t be many. I got a Taster box, which is an one-off, so you can always try that if you’re unsure. If you’re totally in love and want it regularly, there’s a rolling monthly subscription or a six month subscription to suit your needs! Check out the subscriptions available over at The Green Gables, it is worth doing.

Disclaimer: Big thanks to Gabrielle at the Green Gables for giving me a small blogger’s discount when purchasing this box. This doesn’t change my opinion, however and I did still choose to spend money on it. With the discount, the box cost me £7.50. For more information, check out the Green Gables or the Happy Paper Club.